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Perceptions of families with children and the social professionals working with them on services promoting the well-being and social mobility of families
3-28Views:452In our study, we investigate how families with children living in a disadvantaged sub-region of Northern Hungary, in areas of different settlement size and in settlements belonging to the Budapest agglomeration, perceive the available educational,
education, childcare, health and social services, whether they have any information about them, and what professionals working with families with children think about the education, childcare, health and social services and services available to them.
the professional content and quality of the services provided, and whether
the extent to which they can contribute to the well-being and social mobility of families. Our research included a population questionnaire survey and interviews with professionals and families with children. Our results indicate that children's abilities
the lack of services to develop their abilities, develop their talents and promote their well-being, the
existing education, health and social services with very limited capacity and therefore low quality, and limited access to cultural and recreational opportunities
mobility opportunities for children growing up in disadvantaged families are severely limited. Child welfare social work tools are scarce and social interventions are based on fire-fighting. -
Broader context of bullying: from the aspect of several school level and social level variable
65-79Views:203Bullying is a widespread phenomenon in school communities. Although there are significant differences in prevalence between schools, regions and countries. Bullying is a complex problem that is related to several individual, family, school level and social factors. The data was collected in the last survey (in 2013/2014) of the Health Behaviour in School Aged Children Study (HBSC) that is a WHO coordinated nationally representative study. 4 types of bullying involvement was determined: bully, victim, bully-victim and not involved. The ratio of these types was analysed related to the variables of family affluence, school type and type of school administration (state, religious or other) There are no significant differences in the ratio of bullying involvement according to the school type, but there are significant differences according to type of school administration or cathegories of family affluence. Although social-cultural differences doesn’t seem to be key factors of bullying they might have stong contribution to its understanding and designing effective prevention programs.
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The place and role of children in long commuting families – parental decisions and upbringing
88-103Views:190The study examines families in which one or both partners are commuting for longer periods (hetelés). Our research questions focus on those families who are raising children. As a result, their family life is largely determined by the specific operation based on the changing dynamics of physical, emotional proximity and distance. The analysis which processes qualitative results focuses on children and reveals the changes that have taken place in the family as a result of long term commuting. These include attachment in the family, the care and upbringing of children, and the place and role of the child in the family. In the lives of the families studied, we encountered different parental attitudes and parent-child relationships.
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The situation of Hungarian minority households with children in Transcarpatia
53-71.Views:247In our study, we present the situation of Hungarian minority households with children in Ukrai-nian villages based on the results of our qualitative and quantitative researches. In the explora-tory research, 23 interviews were made, and in the questionnaire, research data were obtained from a total of 139 households and 253 children. We present the poverty of households with children along the standard of living and the deprivation features of the households. The core of our analysis is the specific labor market situation, the earning opportunities,and forms of employment that provide for livelihoods for the households with children. Beside the backward-ness of the area studied in the research, the strategies and life situations that characterize the Transcarpathian Hungarians are also presented, which are beyond the known European forms of poverty.
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Family perspectives for young people growing up in child protection care
67-87Views:285The study examines the factors of family perspectives among vulnerable youths – children and youth living in alternative care – with qualitative method. The target group is children who live in the Hungarian child protection system as juveniles. Children and young people experiencing different family substitute arenas may result in various family perspectives. These family perspectives are examined within a theoretical framework of family sociology and human ecology.We used a complex approach to describe the experiences and changes of these structural and family-replacer dimensions together with their impacts on the family perspective. We have found that the family perspectives of the young people are diverse and their narratives about their visions of the future are often linked to dominant family and life events previously experienced in family milieus and forms of care. At the same time, the complexity of life events and the diversity of future plans are not necessarily reflected in the institutional background and the professional-young relationships that could support young people’s autonomy. Based on the interviews, the family and community levels of the human ecology model can also be a significant factor in young people’s family perspectives, so cooperation between family and community, institutional actors can be one of the keys to providing adequate support for young people. In order to realize future plans for family perspectives, professionals need to focus more on individual needs and the diversity and variability of family perspectives.
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Integrating excluded children through experiential games
58-70Views:384The study focuses on children who have been verbally, physically and/or socially bullying by their peers. In the last three decades, the investigation of the phenomenon of school bullying has become an increasingly researched field, one of the main causes of which is the significant increase in the number of child suicides. As a result, the development and application of numerous prevention and intervention programs became a priority, the aim of which is to reduce this deviant phenomenon in educational institutions. The existence of these programs and initiatives helps to create communities in which hurtful behavior occurs in low numbers. In the course of this research, I chose experiential pedagogic games. In the center of the reform pedagogy method I have chosen, the promotion of the creation of social relations and the strengthening of the existing ones becomes the priority. During experiential pedagogic games, children can experience flow, the positive benefits of interdependence, and the new knowledge they get when leaving their comfort zone. The obtained results will be presented and interpreted in the experimental part of the study. As a research tool, I chose sociometry, which demonstrates the relationship network of the given class. During the pre-survey, two children (a girl and a boy) did not have a mutual relationship, and then, through the consciously guided experiential pedagogic game, the result of the post-survey was that these children managed to establish a mutual relationship.
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The role of a children group for the participant, underprivileged children in the family care system 1995–2005
113-135Views:159The aim of this paper is to analyse the methods and effects of a children group, which existed
from 1995 till 2005. The relevance of this group is, that the beginning of this period preludes the
constitution of the Hungarian child protection law. After the transmission period the emerging
social service system provided (or at least tried) supports and services. Those families whose
children were involved in this child group were dealing with unemployment, poverty, lack of
proper housing, abuse, deviance and addictions. The significance of this group that the given
service was easily ductile to the needs of the children and families. -
„Promise is a nice word, but is it good if we keep it” – A review of the literature on programs designed to develop social skills of disadvantaged children
135-160Views:11Childhood social-emotional development lays the foundation for an individual’s life path. A significant proportion of disadvantaged children born into low-status families have deficits in their abilities. According to the disadvantage compensation approach, the gap can be reduced, and even desirable behaviors can be successfully taught in any community (class, peer group, parents, adults, etc.) with the help of professional experts. In our study, we undertake to provide an overview of disadvantage compensation programs developed for school-age children and younger children, based on international and domestic literature, with the aim of strengthening social competencies. In addition to presenting good examples, our goal is to create a complex and critical picture of programs aimed at developing social competencies, especially domestic programs, based on a qualitative evaluation criteria system, which may be useful in the future for professional efforts aimed at helping and developing disadvantage compensation. The ideas of international and domestic education researchers about good practices show many similarities. We believe that both in the domestic and international arenas there is enough good practice, methodological guidelines, training that strengthens self-awareness and responsibility, and theoretical foundations that can inspire experts (teachers, helpers, parents, civilians, etc.) in effective and enjoyable development activities. However, success can only be ensured through continuous and controlled pedagogical and social support work, impact monitoring, and program review. With detailed knowledge of the situation in Hungary, it can be said that disadvantage compensation is practically competing with falling behind. In lucky cases, the distance between groups, the extent and speed of falling behind can be reduced. The difficulties are exacerbated by the lack of a sufficient number of qualified human resources for catch-up programs, and the development of tools and buildings is uneven and, above all, not continuous. The limitations of the effectiveness of disadvantage compensation cannot therefore be found in the quality of the programs developed on the appropriate conceptual background, but in fundamentally structural reasons. In our article, we critically analyze the domestic and international efforts of the past two decades and draw attention to successful solutions and opportunities for further development.
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My healthy life: a health and skill developing program in the child care services
109-122Views:251We present a health education and skill development program for two groups (N=30) of 7-14 years old children in this paper. The target group of our program were children in the family care system. In their case, primer prevention regarding a healthy lifestyle is an important goal. Their families often have difficult life circumstances thus the “social culture” of their (Wessely 2003) may endanger their healthy personality development. The program aimed the development of their physical, psychic and mental health, focusing on the holistic understanding of the concept of health according to the bio-psychosocial health paradigm. As a result of the program, we experienced positive outcomes among the children like higher level cooperation skills, more cognitive knowledge about health, development of their communication, improved self expression and expression of emotions. In the group of adolescent children we experienced the improvement of tolerance, empathy, adaptation and problem solving skills. We consider their wish for further education, the forming of their future plans and life goals as a great result.
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Types of fathers’ home-based and school-based involvement based on an interview study
119-139Views:303In this study, we examine fathers’ home-based and school-based involvement to assist the development and achievement of their children. The international literature suggests that fathers are less involved than mothers, and the form of their involvement is also different. However, their home-based and school-based involvement has been shown to have similar positive effects on children’s educational outcomes. We examine the forms of parental involvement based on the typology created by Epstein and Sanders. In our empirical work, we conducted 14 semi-structured interviews with fathers with young children and aimed to delineate father types based on the forms of involvement by conducting a classification of the interviews. Our results show that the first group of fathers are only involved at home; they do not participate in school-related events with their child but report being actively involved in their child’s education and school-related activities at home. Fathers in the second group, on the other hand, are involved not only at home but also in school life. The third type is made up of divorced fathers who, with one exception, are involved at school and at home, which is consistent with the findings in the literature on single fathers with children. In this study, we also attempt to answer the question of how to increase fathers’ school-based involvement. According to the interviewees’ answers, their activity could be encouraged through support from their wife, greater self-confidence, and events organised by schools which are more suited to fathers (sports events, cooking together).
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Mothers with young children in labour market
29-51Views:702The study examines the labour market integration and employment attitudes of women with young children among the factors influencing the extremely low Hungarian fertility rate. The literature review looks at the role of education, working while raising children, the role of careers, work-life balance and the glass ceiling phenomenon. In the empirical part, We will present, without any claims to exhaustiveness, a typical set of problems that fundamentally determine women’s presence in the labour market. We surveyed 1,033 respondents on attitudes towards work, time spent at home and difficulties in finding a job. The results of the questionnaire survey were evaluated using the SPSS 26.0 software package, including mainly descriptive statistical methods. We found that discrimination against mothers with young children still persists in job interviews. The contribution to the family’s financial expenses is the main factor influencing the return from maternity leave. When choosing a job, the key factor is the work schedule of the job applied for.
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Fighting child poverty. Family day care centres in Debrecen
244-255Views:136One of today's biggest challenges, present in every country in the world in some form or another, is child poverty. Vulnerable groups include children of unemployed parents, families with three or more children and single parents (Ferge and Darvas 2012).
In the EU-27, children and working-age people are at higher risk of poverty and social exclusion than older people. The extent of child poverty is also influenced by the labour market status of parents, the household in which they grow up, and government interventions (Antuofermo and Di Meglio 2012). Since child poverty and the labour market status of parents are inseparable, in my study I also examine employment and unemployment indicators in our country. -
Help professionals in schools and in local communities, with a particular focus on mental health
161-185Views:10This study was conducted as part of a larger research project aimed at gaining a detailed understanding of rural elementary schools in disadvantaged areas and their environment to formulate recommendations for their development. This paper summarizes international and Hungarian literature that presents the work and methods of professionals working in small settlements, as well as programs targeting disadvantaged children and young people living there, with a particular focus on mental health and school inclusion. The target group belongs to the most vulnerable in society, as they have to face complex problems at a very early age. With this in mind, we have divided the study into two main sections. In the first part, we emphasize the power of community cooperation in and outside of school, presenting practices on both national and international level. In the second section, we present a specific problem that strongly affects the target group, namely alcoholism and substance abuse, and its impact on children’s lives and mental health. The main conclusion of the study is that if we want to improve their living conditions, school performance, and mental health, we need complex, multi-professional cooperation and intervention as early as possible.
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Familyplanning and labour market aspirations among youth in fosterhome
87-109Views:183Several international and national organisations are concerned with the aspect of children. This
essay examines a special group of children and youth who live in fostercare. Their future aspects
are basically determined by the break away from their families. Even they area way from their
familiesf or a short or a long time, becoming an adult is a complex process and many factors
define their lives. Among these factors the environment of the fosterhome and the relationship
with the biological family is essential. The essay focuses on two fundamental dimensions of
becoming an adult: familyplanning and working. Although the desires about their future lives
are quite diverse, the implementation is similarly difficult for each of them. Those who haven’t got the supportive background are hadicapped in many dimensions. In these cases the
childprotection has a leading role. The essay attempt stogive an insight to these young adults’
futureplans while it highlights the dimensions of familyplanning and working. -
Conceptual approaches to child vulnerability, child protection contexts
186-202Views:11The examination of conceptual approaches that determine the vulnerability of children and different child protection orientations is not only of scientific significance, but also of policy relevance, as it is an issue that greatly affects the security and well-being of societies. This study uses systematic literature review to examine conceptual approaches to child vulnerability and different child protection contexts in terms of social embeddedness. In addition to theoretical models, which essentially seek to identify the causes of threatening situations, predictive models and studies based on the complexity of risk and protective factors are becoming increasingly prominent. The child protection orientations largely determine the institutional structures and public policy mechanisms developed to protect children. These mechanisms are also largely influenced by the values and the trust represented by society.
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The role of family, parenting and parenting styles among juvenile offenders in the light of international literature
90-108Views:211The role of the family is crucial for the development of juveniles, their behaviour and norm-following, and plays a key role in shaping their values and behaviour patterns. While a whole-family upbringing is important, several other factors are also determinants of rule-following behaviour, such as the level of family cohesion, the level of aggression that may be present in the family, and the degree of parental involvement. Parenting style also shapes children’s behaviour and influences the likelihood of offending, with loving, supportive and understanding families being more likely to promote appropriate and compliant behaviour. While positive parental involvement, support, and directive parenting are associated with lower offending rates, neglectful, strict, or overly permissive parenting styles can increase the risk of subsequent offending. Supporting families to provide a stable environment for their children is key, including encouraging positive behaviours or providing resources for families experiencing difficulties.
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„Beyond the school...”: The role of Study Halls in the social integration of disadvantaged children
3-27.Views:247Extracurricular activities have a significant role in increasing the disadvantaged Roma children’s school performance and compensate their socialization disadvantages. In the recent years, the study hall program becomes widely known in Hungary. Based on the literature and previous researches the study examines the needs, milestones, goals and target groups of the study hall program. This paper also demonstrates the economic and social conditions of the Integration Program, which has been in operation for 20 years, and supports effectively the development of social competences of disadvantaged social groups.
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The situation of Roma education in Harghita county – attitudes of pedagogues
75-92Views:169The study presents the attitudes and behaviours of pedagogues, based on interviews with
teachers working with Roma children which constitute the quotidian educational practice. In
absence of institutional programs, infrastructural and personal conditions, the teachers need
to find solutions for the given difficulties. They become the key figures of the integration process
and hence their attitudes and approaches are determining from the point of view of Roma
children’s school efficiency. The target audience of the research are composed by pedagogues,
who teach in elementary schools in the Csiki Basin in Harghita county, where the rate of Roma
learners exceeds 25 percents. Signalling the main directions of the national policy and the
presentation of literature examining the Hungarian-Roma relationship in Szeklerland offer a
broader framework for the interpretation of the subject. -
The family environment in disadvantaged families and its psychological effects on sociocultural disadvantages
120-134Views:13Sociocultural disadvantage is a cultural deficit resulting from a disadvantaged situation, which, according to the norms of the majority society, means a lower level of education, poorer school performance, a lower level of knowledge of the behavioral rules necessary for social advancement, and keeping to those norms, among other things. Increasing attention is devoted to underdeveloped social competencies as disadvantages (e.g. communication and cooperation skills, self-regulation), which help, for example, to achieve good school performance. Social competencies are fundamentally related to the family environment in childhood. Our study discusses the psychological effects of the family environment through a systematic literature search. The relationships are discussed between stress and children’s psychosocial and cognitive development; the relationship between parents’ attitudes towards school education and children’s learning attitudes and perseverance; and the relationship between parenting style and self-regulation. The study argues that parents cannot be excluded from disadvantage compensation programs aimed at reducing sociocultural disadvantages.
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The Career Concepts of Male Workers with or without Child
91-105Views:181The question of reconciliation of work and family is getting highlighted in social studies. For a
long time, a lot of studies concentrated on young mothers; however, researchers have realized
that this problem proves difficult to men as well. As Bencsik-Juhász write: ” As the actual labor
market primarily employs and caters for men, with all the inherent ad-vantages (like higher wages for the same job) and disadvantages (like longer working hours), it is no wonder that
the stronger labor-market presence and activity of women also changes the traditional family
roles”(Bencsik – Juhász 2012: 616). The public opinion has been starting to expect double sets of
obligations from the fathers, the traditional family supporter role is still strong, while men are
also expected today to take part in child-rearing. The question is whether these processes effect
on men’s career.
This study presents career perspectives of male workers with or without child. The authors
made a quantitative survey in order to get to know this question. Based on research conducted in
2016, it is possible to say that men with or without child are different in this question. -
Child protection in light of the Theory of Change
154-165Views:368It is essential that the child’s individual needs determine the required services and how these can give adequate responses to children’s problems. In Hungary, the child protection system is driven by less established professional principles, service planning and provision are of an ad hoc nature, child protection services lack any conscious design. The present study is based upon main qualitative results obtained from the research subject of “Is the State a Good Parent?”. Our goal is to reveal how the child’s needs are met in the system of the Hungarian child protection services (institutional and foster care), in what way the system can serve best the interests of the child, what systemic flaws can be identified according to child protection experts opinion.
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The Controversy Surrounding the Intercountry Adoption
79-96Views:160The purpose of this article is to identify characteristics of the legal framework of intercountry
adoption. This study is specifically concerned with the international and Hungarian legislation.
In the first part, the international conventions and the Hungarian rules are presented. These
show that a considerable progress has been made in the last century in law-making.
A short statistical analysis illustrates the role of Hungary in intercountry adoption.
The final section considers possible risks and abuses in the process: exploitation, family
tracing, loss of cultural heritage, over-representation Roma children, debate over closed or
open adoption and adoption agencies.
On the basis of the results of this study, it can be concluded that the intercountry adoption
gives rise to a great debate and serious cause for complaining about abuses which weaken the
children’s rights.
This dissertation hopes to offer a comprehensive view on the advantages and challenges of
intercountry adoption. -
Self-contained child protection – possible ways to open up
178-194Views:551The aim of the research, based on a qualitative methodology, is to gain an understanding of
whether external/affiliated services are provided in child protection system targeting parents or
children and young people with child protection problems. The aim is to examine the extent of a
service focused and innovative approaches in child protection, where is the place and what is the
role of civil services. The study, which based on 15 expert interviews, argues that child protection
is currently characterised by many dysfunctions, as a self-contained and isolated sub-system of
social policy, which not only fails to deliver the basic objectives of child protection in practice, but
in many cases hides structural deficiencies and systemic anomalies. There is a need to explore
new ways of child protection, including the use of volunteering, the services of civil organizations
and broad partnerships. -
Social contacts and spending of leisure time of the elderly
86-104Views:512The phenomenon of the aging of societies is now well-known, demonstrating its demographic, economic and social impact in many countries around the world. The increase in average life expectancy at birth and the low number of children have naturally triggered the emergence of declining, aging societies. All this has led to a number of tasks for policy makers, domestic and international organizations, primarily to promote active, healthy aging. This article describes some of the results of an empirical study of 167 people conducted jointly with St. Luke’s Greek Catholic Charity in the winter of 2019 in order to assess the situation and needs of the elderly. This article presents the results of our study, which focuses on community activities, leisure, and social relationships. During our analytical work, we found that those living in residential care homes are more open to community-based activities to maintain physical and mental activity.
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The impact of low social status on educational opportunities
104-119Views:21The aim of the study is to show the impact of low social status and sociocultural disadvantages on children’s educational opportunities. Particular emphasis is placed on disadvantaged small settlements, which often have less favorable indicators, which is also reflected in educational institutions: the proportion of disadvantaged students is high, and their development is often ineffective with traditional pedagogical methods. The study is based on a systematic literature review, which includes international Q1 and Q2 journals as well as domestic studies. The results highlight that the education system has a dual function: it can both mitigate and reproduce social inequalities. Socio-cultural disadvantages consist of complex factors – low parental education, existential insecurity, unstable family structure, minority status, segregation – all of which reinforce each other’s effects at the systemic level. Language use plays a key role, as the use of a limited language code is a disadvantage in school participation and performance. The socio-economic status of the family, early childhood development opportunities, and cooperation between school and family are determining factors in educational success, so improving equal opportunities for disadvantaged students requires a long-term, systemic approach in which schools, families, and communities all play a key role.
